Field of the Invention
The invention relates to internal combustion engines in which reciprocating pistons are connected to a crankshaft by a pawl-and-ratchet arrangement, to convert the linear piston movement to rotary motion. The invention is particularly applicable to internal combustion engines used in racing cars and other types of vehicles where the engine has high performance requirements. It is important in such engines that damage to a piston or its connected parts which prevents movement of that piston not interfere with operation of the undamaged portions of the engines.